Submarine escape apparatus



Feb. 28, 1933.

R. H. DAVIS SUBMARINE ES-CAPE APPARATUS Filed Feb. 18, 1932 v 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 28, 1933. R DAWS 1,899,855

swam/mum ESCAPE APPARATUS Filed Feb. 18, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 2- Feb. 28, 1933. R. H. DAVIS SUBMARINE ESCAPE APPARATUS Filed Feb. 18, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Feb. 28, 1933.

R. H. DAVIS SUBMARINE ESCAPE APPARATUS Filed Feb. 18, 1932 5 Shets-Sheet 4 Feb. 28, 1933. R. H. DAVIS 7 1,899,855

SUBMARINE ESCAPE APPARATUS Filed Feb. 18, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Feb. 28, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE nomm'r HENRY DAVIS, or ennon, ENGLAND SUZBMARINE ESCAPE' APPARATUS Application filed February'18,(1932, Serial No. 593,909,- andlin Great Britain November 9, 1931,

This invention relates to submarine escape apparatus. of the self-contained type comprising a flat panel-shaped breathing bag to be worn in a vertical position against the chest of the wearer of the apparatus, a

mouthpiece communicating with the breathing bag, means for absorbing carbon dioxide from. the wearers breath, so that the air in the breathing bag maybeused over and over again, with or without means for admitting a replenishing, supply of oxygen or air or a mixture of oxygen and air, to the breathing bag, for example, an oxygen cylinder forming. an integer of the outfit, these parts being incorporated together to form a complete self-contained unit to be donned as such. 7

In the use of submarine escape outfits of this type, too rapid an ascent isoften undesirable, as it may resultin caisson illness due to sudden change from exposure to high pressure at great depth to normal atmospheric pressurev at the surface of. the water. Moreover, in the case of self-contained breathing outfits of the type referred to, a relatively slow ascent is desirablein that it permits any excess of air or oxygen in the breathing chamber of the apparatus to escape more freely and thus the pressure in the chamber to equalize more approximately with the water pressure at the depth at which the wearer happens at any given moment to be submerged. When the pressure of the air or oxygen which. is being breathed from the breathing bag exceeds in any appreciable degree the pressure of thewater, the wearer may suifer from a condition which prevents proper action of the respiratory organs and/or the circulatorysystem,

4 The aim of the present invention, therefore, is to incorporate in submarine escape outfits of the type referred to, means whereby the speed of the free or buoyancy ascent of the wearer through the water may be .45 checked.

type to which the invention relates, there a is but little upwardly directed surface avail- 5 able to present resistance to the water duringthe buoyancy ascent of the wearer, owing to the flat panel form of the breathingfbag and its position on the wearer whenin use, anditis partly due to this fact that, as stated, the wearers speed rapid.

It will,

fur her be understood that whilst of ascent is frequently too of course, the area of resistance presented upwardly to'the water by the outfit incposition upon the wearer could be increased'with consequent increase 'of ascent checking effect,.by increasing the cross-sectional area of the breathing bag of the outfit,'this method of meeting the difficulty would at once be impracticable, as it would be antithetical to the general idea of compactness and minimization of overall back to, front dimensions of the'outfit. Thus, if the form of the breathing bag were alteredfrom one of the usual flat 7 panel shape, to. one of deep back-to-front di-' mension, besides the increase of cumbersomeness of the apparatus which this-would entail, the wearer would notbe able to work his way through manhole doors and likeopenings of limiteddiinensions, for the protrusion before him of the breathing bag would operate. as an obstruction to his passage. Y

It is essential, therefore, in submarine esca e outfits of the type to which this jin vention relates, tliat thebreathing bag shall be of the flat panel form referred" t0,.and the problem in the present invention has been to meet the ascent checking difficulty in a simple and efficient. way, having in View this particular consideration, as to the necessary flat form of the breathing'bag, in conjunction with the many other important desiderataknown to obtain'in the use of a submarine escape outfit, for example, the requirement that every part of the outfit shall be the acme of simplicity and foolproofness and yet thoroughly effective in operation, and

the further requirement that anyparts which haveto be manipulated to operative position 1 shall be capableof manipulation thereto with the least possibleefiort and requirement of skill and in the least possible time, the conditions of use of a submarine. escape outfit always being those of. extreme emergency, tending. to cause; distress and mental agitation on the part of the person attempting to i use the outfit.

'According to the present invention, there is incorporated in a submarine escape outfit of the type specified, a fin for checking the speed of buoyancy ascent of the wearer through the water, which fin is rollable or foldable from an operative position, in

which it projects laterally from the general I 7 external contour of the apparatus, to a stowage position snug against the wall of the breathing bag, in which it is substantially within said external contour.

According to a feature of the invention, the fin may be adjustable to a plurality of speed-checking positions for the purpose of controlling at will its effect upon the ascent speed of the wearer. Thus, the fin may be adjustable selectively, to one or other of a plurality of operative positions in which the V fin is inclined to the horizontal, the particuin itsoperative position by the hands of the wearer of the apparatus as he ascends in the water.

Alternatively, the fin may be combined in the apparatus with means adapted to support it mechanically in the operative position hands of either with the assistance of the the wearer or without.

In a simple and convenient construction in accordance with the invention,in that form in which the fin comprises an'apron of flexible material, the said apron may be connected along its freeedge to a roller upon which it can be rolled up to a stowage position adjacent the attached edge of. the apron and unrolled for use either fully or partially according to the degree to which the wearer of theapparatus desires to retard his ascent, the roller preferably being provided for this purpose with handle portions at the two ends which project beyond the lateral edges of the apron.

Accordlng to another feature of the invention, the apron may be combined with a supporting stay or stays which are arranged to hold the apron out in its extended position,

being connectedto the apron at or near its free edge either permanently or detachably,

and are colla sible into a stowa e 'osition within or ad acent the general contour of the apparatus when the apron is not in use. Various embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings,

which show the invention as applied to a self-contained breathing apparatus for submarine use, and of which Figures 1 and 2 represent one form of the invention and show,respectively, the ascentchecking fin in its stowage or closed position (Figure 1) and in its open or operative position (Figure 2) Figures 11 and 12 illustrate another form, Figure 11 showing thefin in a position partwaybetween the stowage position and the operative position, and Figure 12, the fin in its fully extended or operative position; Q

Figures 13 and 14 illustrate another construction, and t Figures 15 and 16 yet a further construc- Like reference characters indicate like parts inthe various figures. Y

The self-contained breathing apparatus shown in the drawings and fitted with the ascent-checking fin'in accordance with the invention, comprises a breathing bagv lin the form of acollapsible rubber envelope, and a mouth-piece 2 to'be worn upon the face of the user, of the apparatus. The mouthpiece is connected to, the breathingbag by means of a fiexiblebreathing tube 3, and the air which is exhaled through this breathing tube passes through a purifier situated within the breathing bag 1 before it enters the breathing bag. This purifier functions to extract carbon dioxide from the exhaled breath. Extending along the lower edgeof the breathing bag 1 and supported therefrom in a strap l, is an oxygen cylinder 5 in communication with the interior of the breathing bag 1 by way of a hand-operated valve 6 and a conduit7. The breathing bag and the parts attached thereto are arrangedto hang from a neck-strap 8 in front of the wearers chest, andto hold the. apparatus in general known construction, and the constru'ction is substantially the same in; the

Figure 10 illustrates a further arrangement, the ascent-checking fin being shown in its operative positlon;

position, straps 12 are provided, connected caseof "all of the several forms of the invention shown in the drawings.

In Figures 1 and 2, the ascent-checking 'fincomprises an apron 10 of flexible material, for example, waterproof canvas, anchored along its rear edge 11 to the forward bottom edge of the breathing bag 1 and attached along its forward edge to a roller 12 upon and by which itmay be rolled up to at one end-to the bottom of the breathing bag 1 and'fitted at the free endwith one element of a snap fastener 14 or the like, the other element of which is mounted upon the face of the breathing bag. Obviously, any

other convenient retaining means for the rolled apron may be provided. Also the apron, instead of being made of waterproof canvas, can be made of sheet rubber or any other suitable flexible material.

In use, the apron 10 is held out in the position shown in Figure 2 by the wearer of the apparatus as he ascends in the water, the wearer gripping the handle-portions of the roller 12, and, as will be appreciated,

by varying the angle at which the apron is held to the horizontal, the extent to which the speed of the wearers ascent through the water can be controlled.

Referring next to the form of the invention shown in Figures3 and 4, in this case, the apparatus comprises an additional envelope 15 constituting a supplementary buoyancy chamber in accordance with the invention described in United States specification No. 582,623. This secondenvelope is of the fiat form shown and is hingedly connected along its rear edge 16 to the front of the breathing bag 1 so as to occupy, at will, either the vertical position shown in Figure 3 or a horizontal position as shown in Figure 4.

In this latter position, the envelope operates as an ascent-checking fin in accordance with the present invention, in conjunction with an extensionfrom the envelope in the form of an apron 18 of similar material to the apron 10 of' the earlier construction. This apron 18 is attached along its rear edge to the free edge of the envelope 15 and, as

in the earlier construction, it is. mounted al ong its own free edge upon a roller 12, by and upon which it may be rolled up to the stowage position shown in Figure 3,

The envelope 15 is fitted interiorly with a small oxygen capsule 17 the neck of which can be readily broken by the wearer of the apparatus, when necessary, to inflate the chamber; this feature also is in accordance with the arrangement'described inthe aforesaid application' for Letters Patent.

In the arrangement shown in Figure 5, a

supplementary buoyancy chamber 15 is provided in the same envelope as that whichconstitutes the breathing bag 1, the envelope being divided interiorly into two compartments by a horizontal partition 19. Moreover, in this arrangement, the supplementary buoyancy chamber is fitted with a non-return infiation inlet 20 by which the chamber may be inflated by means independent of the oxygen capsule 17, for example, bybreath' exhaled into the chamber by the wearer of the apparatus.

The ascent-checking fin in this construction shown in Figure 5, takes the form, as previously, of an apron 10 of flexible material mounted 'at'its free edge uponaroller 12.

Figures 6 and 7 show another construction in accordance with the invention in which there is a supplementary buoyancy chamber additional to the breathing bag 1, but in this case, in contrast to the arrangement shown in- Figures3 and 4, the supplementary buoyancy chamber is fixedly connected to the face of the breathing bag, and the ascent-checking fin is constituted solely by an apron 10 of flexible material as in the construction first described.

Figu-res 8 and 9 illustrate an arrangement similar to that shown in Figures 1 and 2, but differing in this respect, that the apronlO is arranged to be held out in this open position by means of struts 21. These struts are pivoted at their rear ends 22 to lugs or "the like mounted upon the bottom of the breathing bag 1, and they are adapted to swing from an operative position, as shown in Figure 9, to

the inoperative or stowage position, shown in Figure 8, in which latter position they lie more or less within the general contour of the apparatus. When the struts are in use (Figure 9) they engage the free edge of the apron 10 at their free ends by means of snap fasteners or the like 23, the male elements of which are mounted upon'the tips of the struts, and the female elements upon the apron, or vice versa, as desired. 1

In this arrangement, as will be appreciated, the apron requires to be supported by the hands of the'wearer against'the pressure of the water as the wearer ascends, the handle portions of the roller 12 being gripped by the hands. Y

Figure 10 shows an alternative arrange ment of supporting means for the apron 10, according to which, the apron is attached along its lateral edges to a pair of struts 24:, the inner ends of which are pivoted to pins 25, slidable along a vertical slot-member 26 from the position shown in Figure 10 to a raised position near the top of the 'slot-memstantially vertical positions, the apron thenbeing in its stowage position. Co-operating one next to it edge to edge, and the outerwith the struts 24 are a pa-ir'of inclined tie rods27, which are pivoted at the upper end to the top of the slot-members 26 and at the lower end to'the forward extremity'of the struts 24. As the struts 2 1 collapse down to their inoperative positions, the tie rods .27 also collapse downwardly into one substantially common plane with the struts and the apron 10. I r

7 Figures 11 and 12 show a further alternative arrangement, in which the apron 10 is arranged to beheld out in its openposition by a pair of horlzontalfoldmg arms 28, which are pivoted at the inner end to lugs or the like mounted upon the bottom of the breath- 2 ing bag 1 and are pivoted at their outer ends to the apron 10 near the free edge thereof,

as shown. The joint between the two members of the folding arms is combined withdetentmeans adapted to hold the said members in alignment when the arms are in use. These detent means may take any c'onvenientforin. For. example, they may comprise a shallow projection on one member, adapted to snap into a co-operating dent on the other member. I

This form of the invention shown in Figures 11 and 12, like the form shown in Figures 8 and 9, is one in which the apron 10 is required to be held up against the pressure of the water by the hands of the wearer of the apparatns,.the folding arms 28 serving simply to retain the apron 10 in its extended in its operative position by folding arms 31 I adapted not simply to hold the apron out in its operative position, but also to support it against the pressure of the water as the wearer ascends. For this purpose, at each joint of the arms 31, one arm-member is formed along one of its edges, in the neighbourhood of the joint, with a short flange 32 whlch serves as an abutment for the corre-' sponding edge of the ad acent arm-1nemberon the opposite side of the joint, and the folding armsare hingedly connected to their atarranged to be rolled up upon a roller 12 to.

the inoperative stowage position shown in I Figure 13, and when the apron is in its extended or operative position, the ends of the roller 12 are held within notches 3 1 provided upon the extremities of the folding arms 31 to receive them.

When the parts are in their'st'owage posi-. -tions, the fol-dlngarms 31 occupy the collapsed positions shown in Figure 13, that is to say, the several members of the folding arms are folded over,the' rearmost and the most member face to face against thesecond member, and the collapsed arms are swung inwardly so as to overlap one another and to lie together within the general contour of the apparatus.

In the construction shown in Figures 15 and 16, the fin comprises a sheet of waterproof canvas or other flexible material 35 attached along its rear edge to a framerod 36 parallel to a hinge rod 36a and along its for- .ward edge to a frame rod 37, the said rods 36, 36a and 37, being connected by a. pair of folding ar1ns 38, extending along the lateral edges of the sheet 35. The folding arms '38; are connected at the joint between their limbs by a second frame rod 39, the ends of which constitute the pivots of the said limbs of the arms 38.

The vane is swingably mounted in stationarylugs 32 to occupy either an operative position, as shown in Figure 16,:or the inoperative; collapsed pos tion shown in F1gure 15.

In the collapsed position, the forward half of the fin is folded inwardly over the rear resist the downward pressure of the water. upon the fin, as the wearer ascends, and prevent the said pressure from collapsing the fin, the forward limbs of the folding arms 38 are provided with rearward extension tongues 41, which-abut the under edges of I the rear members of the arms so as to resist the, bending of the arm at the oint.

It will be apparent that, although a number of different embodiments of the invention have been included in the foregoing descrip-' tion, the invention is susceptible to considerable variation in respect of the form of the ascent-checking fin and in regard to other details. For example, the fin, could comprise a rigid flap hinged in the apparatus to swing from a stowage position in which it lies, say, against the front of the breathing bag, to an operative position in which it extends outwardly in a substantially horizontal plane.

W hat I claim is l 1. A submarine escape outfit of'the type specified, in which there is incorporated a fin for checking the speed of buoyancy ascent of the wearer through thewater, which fin is movable. from an operative position in which it projects laterally from the general exterof the rear limbsof the folding arms 38. To

nal contour of the outfit to a-stowa'ge position in which it lies snug against the wall of position to be substantially within the general external contour of the outfit.

2. A submarine escape outfit of the type specified, in which there is incorporated a fin for checking the speed of buoyancy ascent of the wearer through the water, which fin is movable from a stowage position in which it lies snug against the wall of the breathing bag of the outfit so as in this position to be substantially within the general external contour of the apparatus, selectively to one or other of a plurality of speed-checking positions in which it projects laterally from said contour.

3. A submarine escape outfit of the type specified, and in accordance with claim 1, wherein the fin consists of an apron of fiexible material anchored in the outfit along its rear edge and collapsible upon itself to the stowage position.

4. A submarine escape outfit of the type specified and in accordance with claim 1, wherein the fin consists of an apron of flexible material anchored in the outfit along its rear edge and attached along its forward edge to a roller upon which it may be rolled up to the stowage position.

5. A submarine escape outfit of the. type specified and in accordance with claim 1, wherein the fin consists of an apron of flexible material, anchored in the outfit along its rear edge, arranged to beheld out in the operative position by the hands of the wearer of the outfit as he ascends in the water and attached along its forward edge to a roller upon which it may he rolled up to the. stowage position.

6. A submarine escape outfit of the type specified and in accordance with claim 1,

wherein the fin consists of an apron of flexible material, anchored in the outfit along its rear edge, adapted to be held out at any desired angle, so as to project laterally from the general external contour of the outfit, by the hands of the wearer of the outfit as he ascends in the water and attached along its forward edge to a roller upon which it may be rolled up to the stowage position.

7. A submarine escape outfit of the type specified and in accordance with claim 1, wherein the fin is combined in the apparatus with means adapted to support it mechancally in the operative position.

8. A submarine escape outfit of the type specified and in accordance with claim 1, wherein the fin consists of an apron of flexible material anchored in the outfit along its rear edge and attached along its forward e e to a roller upon which it may be rolled up to the stowage position, in combination with foldable arms which are hingedly connected at their inner ends to a rigid part of the outfit to swing in a substantially horizontal plane to and from an operative position in which they afiord support to the apron,

both in a direction parallel to its general plane so as to hold the apron open and also in a direction perpendicular to said plane.

9. A submarine escape outfit of the type 0;

as to occupy at will either a position in which it hangs vertically against the face of the breathing bag or a position in which it, projects laterally from said face so as to serve as a fin to check the spread of the buoyancy ascent of the wearer, in combination with an apron of flexible material attached along the rear edge to free the edge of the supplemental buoyancy chamber and adapted to be held out by the hands of the wearer of the outfit in alignment with said chamber when the latter is in its ascent-checking position.

10. A submarine escape outfit of the type specified and in accordance with claim 1,

wherein the fin consists of an apron of flexible material, anchored in the outfit along its rear edge, arranged to be held out at any desired angle, so as to project laterally from the general external contour of the outfit, solely by the hands of the wearer of the outfit as he ascends in the water and attached along its forward edge to a roller upon which it may be rolled up to the stowage position.

11. A submarine escape outfit of the type specified and 'in accordance with claim 1, wherein the fin consists of a sheet of flexible material mounted upon a frame which is foldable upon itself about an axis intermediate the forward and rear edges of the fin and is hingedly mounted in the outfit to swing when folded into an inoperative position snug against the general external contour of the outfit, in combination with spring control means tending to move the fin to said inoperative position.

ROBERT HENRY DAVIS. 

